What would a team made up of current NRL coaches look like if they took to the field?

We know that great players don’t necessarily make great coaches – sorry, Kevvie – and it’s also true that some of today’s best coaches were pretty ordinary in their playing days – Adam O’Brien and Andrew Webster, take a bow.

Of course, some great players have gone on to excel on the tablet – like Mal Meninga, Clive Churchill and Bobby Fulton – and there are others who have taken their regular playing kit with them when they become coaches – I hope you’re well and enjoying life Hook.

This time last year I was looking at coaches, but a lot had changed with the people in charge, so I updated the team.

So let’s take a quick look at the current NRL team coach’s playing record and see how they would line up if they took the field in the coach’s dream team.

1. Ivan Cleary (Panthers) “Cleary can best be described as a ‘good first-class’ player who never really hit the big time but still managed to have a very respectable career, playing 186 games and 1,363 points across four clubs during his 11-year top-flight playing career. He has never won a Premiership as a player but now has four titles since swapping his playing career for a new job as a first-class coach and helicopter parent.

2. Wayne Bennett (Rabbitohs) – Once upon a time, Wayne Bennett was a brilliant player who competed in Brisbane. He was good enough to not only be selected for Queensland seven times, but also take Australia’s tour to New Zealand in 1971, scoring a try on debut against the NZ 13, but was unable to unseat the great Ray Branigan of Souths in the Test jumpers. .

3. Des Hasler (Titans) “Hasler is one of the few people to win the Premier League as both a player and a manager, and he hasn’t achieved much in the game. He played in every field position except second and first row at various stages of his career, playing 312 first-class games, 12 matches for New South Wales and many Tests for Australia.

4. Craig Bellamy (Storm) – Bellamy’s 150 games as a player for the Raiders pales in comparison to his coaching career in Melbourne these days, but he was a very handy player for the Raiders in his time and was versatile enough to play anywhere from fullback to defender He is best described as tenacious rather than brilliant, but he did win a premiership from the bench for the Raiders in 1990.

5. Michael Maguire (Broncos) “Maguire started life in rugby before seeing the light of day and joining the Raiders in 1991, making his first grade debut at the age of 18 the following year. With the likes of Mel Meninga, Noah Nadruku, Reuben Wiki, Brett Mullins, Ken Nagas and Jason Crocker vying for the full-back positions, Maguire’s first-class opportunities were limited to just nine games and he headed to the Adelaide Rams in 1997. He then returned to Canberra the following year, only to retire due to persistent injury.

6. Benji Marshall (Tigers) “If playing ability counted for anything in coaching, Wests could have looked forward to a golden era under Marshall.” He was one of the best players of the NRL era, playing nearly 350 first-class games and 31 Tests for the Kiwis and starring in the Tigers’ last and only premiership victory in 2005. Admittedly, he ruined his notebook. towards the end of his career, becoming interested in rugby.

Benji Marshall. (Photo by Jenny Evans/Getty Images)

7. Ricky Stewart (C) (Raiders) – Before rewriting the book on the siege mentality, Stewart was a player who played 243 first-class matches, including 3 premierships, 14 caps for NSW, 9 Tests for Australia, the Dally M Medal, the Rothman Medal and the Clive Churchill Medal. . The only reason Stewart is captain of the team is because someone better have the right to challenge the umpire via the Captain’s Challenge.

8. Jason Riles (Eels) “Ryles was a strong and skilled front-rower who loved a challenge in the middle ruck and rose to prominence when he made the Australian squad at just 22 years old. He went on to play 14 games for his country, eight for New South Wales and 271 first-class games. Some say he was just a hard worker.

9. Shane Flanagan (Dragons) – Flanagan spent more time in the minors than in the first grades during his stints with St George’s, Western Suburbs and the Eels between 1987 and 1994, giving no indication that he would the man to help the Sharks become their first premiership.

10. Todd Payten (Cowboys) “There was nothing special about Payten, but he had a very solid 16-year career and won a premiership with the Tigers in 2005.” Steady, reliable and hardworking are all qualities required to coach in the NRL.

11. Craig Fitzgibbon (Sharks) “Fitzgibbon was one of the best players of the NRL era and retired as one of the Roosters’ favorite sons. He played over 300 first-class games both here and in England, scored almost 1,850 runs in his career, won a premiership and the Clive Churchill Medal in 2002, and was a regular in both New South Wales and Australia’s squads.

Craig Fitzgibbon plays for the Roosters. (Nick Laham/Allsport)

12. Trent Robinson (Roosters) “Robinson was a useful striker but played just a few top-flight games for Wests and Parramatta in the early 2000s before trying his luck in the south of France, where he finally realized he was a better coach than player.

13. Cameron Ciraldo (Bulldogs) “The great rower’s career can best be described as stable rather than spectacular: over nine seasons he played 94 top-class games for Cronulla, Newcastle and Penrith, as well as six caps for Italy. Never a star, but a great team player.

14. Andrew Webster (Warriors) “Before finding his niche as a coach, Webster struggled in the halves for both Balmain and Parramatta junior grades, never getting the chance to make it into the first grade. A classic case: an average player makes a great coach.

15. Adam O’Brien (Knights) – O’Brien was reported to be a handy half-back at five-eighth during his playing days, spending most of his career on the New South Wales south coast. I guess we’ll never know.

16. Anthony Seibold (Sea Eagles) – The big front-rower played in the Broncos minors and in the south of France before heading to Canberra in 1997, playing 14 games off the bench over the next two years. That’s it for the NRL, although he has fared much better since moving to the SL in 1999.

17. Christian Wulff (Dolphins) “Wolfe is a dour character who didn’t have much success as a player but spent a couple of seasons with Souths Logan Magpies in the late 1990s.

So how will this team fare if it takes the field?

Well firstly he won’t be lacking in attitude, especially in defense with the likes of Stewart, Bennett, Maguire and Bellamy in the team and kicking on goal shouldn’t be an issue either as both Fitzgibbon and Cleary are big names snipers. .

The attack is sure to revolve around midfielders Stewart and Marshall, who will rely on Flanagan to add some of his unique chemistry to the spine.

The forwards have plenty of options going forward, with Ryles, Payten and Ciraldo all capable of churning out yardage, Fitzgibbon showing off his tireless defense and strong edge running, but the bench looks to be the weakest link and exchanges should be avoided at all costs.

Now all we need now is a coach?